US judge asks Justice Department for more information on Epstein grand jury unsealing

​​​​​​​WASHINGTON

A federal judge on Tuesday gave Justice Department officials one week to produce more information on why grand jury testimony in the case of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein should be unsealed.

District Court Judge Paul Engelmayer said he “intends to resolve this motion expeditiously,” but said Justice Department’s attorneys have not yet provided adequate information regarding factors he needs to consider before he can unseal the records.

Engelmayer gave the agency until next Tuesday to file its submission, which is to be no longer than 25 pages.

The judge said he has not received grand jury files that the agency wants to unseal, and directed attorneys to provide all transcripts, their proposed redacted versions of the files and descriptions of other materials, including exhibits.

“In light of grand jury secrecy and victim-related issues and other personal identifying information concerns, the Government is authorized to file, on the public record, a redacted version, and to file under seal the memorandum in redacted form,” wrote Engelmayer.

Grand juries typically conduct their proceedings behind closed doors as they weigh whether to indict an individual on crimes brought forth by prosecutors.

Engelmayer gave attorneys representing Epstein aide and former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as attorneys representing Epstein’s victims, until Aug. 5 to file their positions on the release of the files.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Tuesday that he intends to meet Maxwell, who was convicted of multiple sex crimes in 2021 and is serving a 20-year sentence, “in the coming days.”

“If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,” he wrote on X, using an acronym to refer to the Justice Department.

“Therefore, at the direction of Attorney General (Pam) Bondi, I have communicated with counsel for Ms. Maxwell to determine whether she would be willing to speak with prosecutors from the Department. I anticipate meeting with Ms. Maxwell in the coming days,” he added.

The announcement came as President Donald Trump finds himself in the middle of a MAGA firestorm after the Justice Department determined that Epstein kept no “client list” that could be used to charge any additional individuals with sex crimes, and said Epstein was not murdered in his jail cell in 2019.

Prominent voices in Trump’s MAGA movement — or Make America Great Again, which Trump popularized while running for president in 2016 and 2024 — have long vocally demanded the release of the list and associated government files on Epstein.

Trump said he was unaware that Blanche sought a meeting with Maxwell, but said doing so “sounds appropriate.”

“I don’t know about I think it’s something that sounds appropriate to do,” he said.

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